International Business News - Opera http://www.ibtimes.com All articles are copyrighted by IBTimes.com 400 100 http://www.ibtimes.com/ http://www.ibtimes.com/images/top_logo_ibt2_3.gif Britain's soap operas offer a steady diet of sex, scandal--and if Cambridge University has its way, scholarship. Trying to shed its elitist image, Cambridge has approached the producers of Britain's three leading TV soaps about including it in their story lines. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080902/cambridge-university-wants-to-be-on-tv.htm Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:49:56 EDT An open casting call for "All My Children" is far from business as usual: The soap opera is seeking an Iraq war veteran to play an injured veteran. The ABC daytime show has created a romantic story line to combine entertainment and a window into the challenges faced after combat, said executive producer Julie Hanan Carruthers. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080818/role-of-a-lifetime-iraq-vet-sought-for-soap-opera.htm Mon, 18 Aug 2008 09:20:19 EDT Good voices, masterful music from the orchestra pit, fanciful costumes and comic touches that had the audience laughing out loud were the highlights of Sunday's new production of Mozart's "The Magic Flute." http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/107154-austria-opera-magic-flute.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080811/new-magic-flute-has-shadows-and-light.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080811/new-magic-flute-has-shadows-and-light.htm Mon, 11 Aug 2008 07:19:39 EDT This year's Opera News Awards are going to sopranos Natalie Dessay and Renee Fleming, mezzo Marilyn Horne, baritone Sherrill Milnes and composer John Adams. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080804/dessay-fleming-among-opera-news-award-winners.htm Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:30:54 EDT The opening note of Bernd Alois Zimmermann's "Die Soldaten" has to be the most moving in opera when heard in David Pountney's production: The 974-seat bleacher containing the audience slowly starts to roll down train tracks in the Park Avenue Armory's Drill Hall, passing over a football field-length runway where most of the action takes place. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/87120-opera-at-the-armory.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080706/audience-rolls-down-tracks-during-die-soldaten.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080706/audience-rolls-down-tracks-during-die-soldaten.htm Sun, 06 Jul 2008 21:18:42 EDT Conductor George Manahan will remain a music director of the New York City Opera under incoming general manager Gerard Mortier, agreeing to a four-year contract through the 2011-12 season. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/83583-new-york-city-opera-manahan.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080701/manahan-to-stay-at-nyc-opera-through-2011-12.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080701/manahan-to-stay-at-nyc-opera-through-2011-12.htm Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:54:16 EDT Be afraid, be very afraid: David Cronenberg's 1986 horror flick, "The Fly," has undergone a bizarre metamorphosis. It's now an opera. The new incarnation, with tenor Placido Domingo conducting a score by Oscar-winning composer Howard Shore ("The Lord of the Rings"), isn't as gory as the movie. Audiences will be spared close-ups of the title character's fingernails falling off as he makes the transition from mild-mannered scientist to giant insect. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080701/the-fly-opera-is-buzz-of-paris-season.htm Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:52:15 EDT When tenor Ben Heppner wanted to try the grueling role of Tristan for the first time back in 1997, he chose a spot that he described as "off the beaten path." http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/82812-siegfried-at-aix.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080630/heppner-trying-on-siegfried-in-aix-en-provence.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080630/heppner-trying-on-siegfried-in-aix-en-provence.htm Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:04:06 EDT When tenor Ben Heppner wanted to try the grueling role of Tristan for the first time back in 1997, he chose a spot that he described as "off the beaten path." http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/82438-siegfried-at-aix.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080629/heppner-trying-on-siegfried-in-aix-en-provence.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080629/heppner-trying-on-siegfried-in-aix-en-provence.htm Sun, 29 Jun 2008 16:33:36 EDT They call it "Summer Madness." OK, it's just an advertising slogan that loosely ties together the three works currently in repertory for the San Francisco Opera's June season. But the title character of Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor" offers more than enough insanity to go around, especially as portrayed by the dynamic French soprano Natalie Dessay. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080622/review-dessay-shines-as-lucia-in-san-francisco.htm Sun, 22 Jun 2008 14:53:54 EDT The new jet-set production of Handel's "Rinaldo" at the Zurich Opera left a large segment of the audience pretty much dumbfounded. Director Jens-Daniel Herzog shifted the action from Jerusalem around the time of the First Crusade (1096-1099) to an airport luxury lounge and conference center, more than a wee bit later than the First Crusade. Rinaldo, the Christian warrior, wears a double-breasted navy blazer, needs a drink and gets frustrated when an elevator door closes on him. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080620/handel-with-care-zurich-rinaldo-set-in-airport.htm Fri, 20 Jun 2008 15:35:40 EDT The renowned Vienna State Opera canceled one performance and complained about dismal attendance at another, blaming the European soccer championship being played in the Austrian capital. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080617/opera-attendance-suffers-from-soccer-championship.htm Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:13:05 EDT A new Web browser from Norway's Opera Software ASA addresses Internet users' growing tendency to use multiple computers and devices. Opera 9.5, released Thursday for Windows, Mac and Linux computers, includes the new Opera Link feature, which lets you bring your bookmarks wherever you go. It works with Opera's desktop browser as well as Opera Mini, the browser for mobile phones. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080612/feature-in-new-opera-browser-addresses-portability.htm Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:12:20 EDT The New York City Opera commissioned Charles Wuorinen to compose an opera based on "Brokeback Mountain," the 1997 short story by Annie Proulx that became the basis for a 2005 movie that won three Academy Awards. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080608/brokeback-mountain-to-become-opera.htm Sun, 08 Jun 2008 14:07:31 EDT Italian composer Giorgio Battistelli says he believes operatic treatment of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" will help people see the world's environmental predicament from a fresh point of view. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/58605-al-gore-opera.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080530/italian-composer-sees-music-gores-film.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080530/italian-composer-sees-music-gores-film.htm Fri, 30 May 2008 15:15:03 EDT First it was the film and the book. Now the next stop for Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" is opera. La Scala officials say the Italian composer Giorgio Battistelli has been commissioned to produce an opera on the international multiformat hit for the 2011 season at the Milan opera house. The composer is currently artistic director of the Arena in Verona. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080529/la-scala-to-stage-gores-inconvenient-truth.htm Thu, 29 May 2008 07:55:52 EDT On-stage villains aren't the only vermin at the Metropolitan Opera. The grand theater at Lincoln Center, where much of New York's society gathers to show off gowns and jewels, has been cited for sanitary violations by the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080528/nyc-health-department-mice-at-met-opera.htm Wed, 28 May 2008 18:24:00 EDT Peter Mussbach, general manager of Berlin's famed Staatsoper, is leaving due to differences over programming. The foundation that oversees Berlin's three opera houses decided in consultation with Mussbach, 59, to "release him irrevocably with immediate effect," a statement from the city government said Thursday. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080515/peter-mussbach-leaving-berlins-staatsoper.htm Thu, 15 May 2008 12:05:24 EDT Soprano Leontyne Price, conductor James Levine, composer Carlisle Floyd and administrator Richard Gaddes will be the initial recipients of the National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honors. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/46005-nea-opera-honors.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080513/price-levine-floyd-gaddes-to-get-nea-honors.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080513/price-levine-floyd-gaddes-to-get-nea-honors.htm Tue, 13 May 2008 18:53:56 EDT Less is more for Tan Dun's "The First Emperor." When the ambitious opera was given its world premiere at the Metropolitan Opera in December 2006, there were many interesting elements, both musically and theatrically. But overall, it was a mixed night, done in by tedious pacing, especially in the first act. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/45392-opera-first-emperor.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080511/cut-down-the-first-emperor-returns-to-met-opera.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080511/cut-down-the-first-emperor-returns-to-met-opera.htm Sun, 11 May 2008 13:44:31 EDT